A meeting on the situation in the global energy market and its impact on the country's economy was held at Azerbaijan’s Cabinet of Ministers under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Ali Asadov on March 11, Trend reports.

Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan - Head of the Department of Economic Issues and Innovative Development Policy of the Presidential Administration Shahmar Movsumov, Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov, Minister of Finance Samir Sharifov, Chairman of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) Elman Rustamov, Executive Director of the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) Israfil Mammadov and Assistant to the Prime Minister Fakhri Ismailov attended the meeting.

The prime minister said that concerns in the financial and banking sectors as well as among the population has increased due to a sharp drop in oil prices in the world market in recent days and stressed that the government constantly pays attention to the processes taking place in the global economy and takes proactive measures.

Ali Asadov added that President Ilham Aliyev spoke in details at the Parliament in connection with the development of the Azerbaijani economy on March 10. He noted that on the same day, the Cabinet of Ministers also informed business circles and the public about the steps on the protection of macroeconomic and financial stability in the country.

“Naturally, the spread of coronavirus infection in the world since the beginning of 2020 negatively affected the global economy, as well as the oil markets. However, thanks to the measures taken, the economy of our country is more stable than during the global financial and economic crisis that began in 2014. I want to note that despite the negative economic trends in the world, our economy is developing, and the country's financial capabilities are expanding. As the head of state emphasized, the country's economy has a fairly high financial immunity and an 'airbag'. The positive international investment position of Azerbaijan indicates that it acts as an international creditor,” the prime minister said.

“The dynamics of positive development continues in the country this year. So, from January 2020 through February 2020, gross domestic product increased by 2.8 percent and non-oil gross domestic product - by 6.7 percent. The inflation is 2.8 percent,” Asadov noted.

The prime minister, underlying the complexity of the global economic situation, said that the government monitors the situation on a daily basis and the current situation in the national economy is manageable.

"The government has appropriate instruments of influence to prevent the negative effects of recent events in the global economy, and if necessary, these tools will be quickly used," Asadov said.

“The country has sufficient financial resources against events taking place in the oil market and the global economy. Our strategic currency resources exceed 100 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), and are six times higher than foreign public debt. From this point of view, in this situation, I urge the business community and the population to demonstrate restraint. At the same time, I want to inform you that control over the foreign exchange market will be strengthened, illegal actions and cases of abuse of the situation will be resolutely suppressed,” Asadov added.